WEEKLY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS | 22 Apr - 26 Apr 2019

NEWS

Yangon Regional Government said it has issued 32 condominium licenses for real estate developers as of April 6. All licenses are issued for Yangon while other regions and states have not received any condominium license.“We are implementing rules and regulations that are appropriate to the present time and will provide opportunities. This includes the Condominium Law. We will start issuing condominium license for real estate developer and we are proud for that,” U Han Zaw, Union Minister for the Ministry of Construction, said.

RESEARCH VIEW

The new condominium law stipulates that a building should have at least 6 floors, and must be built on a land with the size of at least 20,000 square feet in order for it to be classified as condominium. Colliers studies find that only a small share of condominiums meet this eligibility standard as majority of them were developed on lands that are smaller than 20,000 square feet. Issuing developer licenses as a part of the new regulation will standardize the quality of condos in the future as well as help developers market them to foreigners whose legal ownership has now been amended as 40 percent. As Myanmar opens its door for further economic reforms, Colliers recommends developers to organize sales events in neighboring countries with huge Myanmar population such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia to draw more attention to the newly built condos and their investment potential.

NEWS

Thailand and Myanmar have signed a collaboration deal to promote tourism routes connecting ancient cities of the two countries in preparation for a travel boom expected from Asean. Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) earlier this month signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Myanmar authorities to foster sustainable and cultural travel routes connecting old cities in both countries. Under the MoU, Dasta and authorities of Myeik, located in southern Myanmar, will together develop and promote tourism plans by linking historical sites from the ancient Dvaravati period, a powerful kingdom that flourished from the 6th to the 11th centuries.

RESEARCH VIEW

The collaboration between Thai and Myanmar authorities to implement sustainable travel routes connecting historical cities along the border can be a win-win initiative for both countries. According to the official figures in 2018, Myanmar received 3.55 million foreign tourists with majority of them entering from China and Thailand. As Myanmar continues to extend visa on arrival services to multiple countries in Asia and Europe, cross-border arrivals to and from Myanmar are also expected to increase moving forward. As Thailand had over 38 million foreign tourists last year, Myanmar has a lot to gain from the cross-country interlinkages with Thailand. Colliers urge Myanmar hoteliers to take advantage of this opportunity by strengthening the ties with tour agents dedicated to Thailand and offering more destination management services for visitors.

NEWS

The International Monetary Fund has warned that the Myanmar economy “appears to be losing momentum”, citing concerns over fallout from the Rakhine crisis and weaknesses in the banking sector.The IMF said “risks are tilted to the downside” and that failure to address the humanitarian catastrophe or the refugee repatriation process would hurt the country economically. The IMF expects economic growth of 6.4% in the fiscal year 2018-19 (October 2018 to September 2019) if government spending picks up. This compares with 6.8% in 2017-18 (April 2017 to March 2018) and an annualised 6.2% in the six months to September 2018.

RESEARCH VIEW

Colliers believes that the most crucial driver in Myanmar’s economic progress is the reforms that will further liberalise the country’s key investment sectors. According to World Bank’s medium-term macroeconomic outlook, they project an economic recovery to 6.6% by 2020/21. However, this will only transpire if more economic policies are rolled out. As explained by the World Bank, their positive projection is driven by an expected pickup in foreign and domestic investment responding to recent policy measures such as the opening of retail and wholesale sectors, services sector liberalisation, loosening restrictions on foreign bank lending and continued implementation of the companies act.